Possibly Source can't do a transparency/glow effect that replicates what they did in the Unreal engine. An odd choice though, going with that weird rainbow effect. I would have thought even a simple transparency with a basic white-ish texture would have done the job. But maybe it was just some reference/joke that escaped me.

I just downloaded this game, and so far my impression is: "Where has all the dialogue gone?" It seems like what used to be 10 interactions has been cut down to 1, and the rest is a 15-minute cutscene. Also, the quest system is awful. It used to be that you had to interact with NPC's to get them to give you a quest. Now you just overhear them and become a meddling busybody. Liara's as gorgeous as ever, not to mention a certain Specialist and turian(?), but so far for me, those are the only three good parts.

Why do I feel like my RPG IQ has suddenly dropped 100 points from playing Arcanum or even KOTOR/TSL?

Also, the quest system is awful. It used to be that you had to interact with NPC's to get them to give you a quest. Now you just overhear them and become a meddling busybody.

This is actually a neat advancement. It solves the problem I had with the series before of why Shepard, Most Important Man In The Galaxy must stop and talk to people to assure them that he'll fetch their laundry from other other side of the galaxy. Or why Shepard is fetching laundry for random people at all. Now if you don't find that quest relevant, you can ignore it and not have to be tied down by some personal obligation to the quest-giver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MsFicwriter

Why do I feel like my RPG IQ has suddenly dropped 100 points from playing Arcanum or even KOTOR/TSL?

Because it's not a proper RPG game. There's no dice rolls, no proper roleplaying so to speak and no complex rulesets. It's an action game with RPG elements, but it really cannot be compared to Arcanum or KotOR. You want a real RPG, you play The Witcher 2, or one of those obscure indie isometric RPGs by Spiderweb Software.

Also what DarthParametric wrote, yes I am agreeing this him for once, if you are already hating you are really going to be extremely upset at the ending. Personally I thought ME3 was the best of the series both in storytelling and game play up until the last 5 minutes and then even I was disappointed. I just never understood how the last 5 minutes ruined everything else that came before that completely. Guess I just didn’t hate it as much as everyone else, or I just loved everything so much before the end, that it soften the blow that is the ME series ending.

There are still people only just discovering Bioware's other bastion of quality entertainment, Dragon Age 2, so I suspect ME3's artistic integrity will continue to delight unsuspecting future audiences for a few more years yet.

There are still people only just discovering Bioware's other bastion of quality entertainment, Dragon Age 2, so I suspect ME3's artistic integrity will continue to delight unsuspecting future audiences for a few more years yet.

The thing is, Mass Effect 3 and even Dragon Age 2 are in my opinion brilliant games, but BioWare let themselves down with such simple, and lazy things. Mass Effect 3's fetch quests were quick and simple and i actually liked em, nothing about ME3 was an issue for me, even the ending was dealable one we got the extended cut.

Dragon Age 2 is just plagued with reused areas, spawn-out-of-nowhere enemies to lengthen fights and general tid bits of inconvenience. But I love the story that unfolded and will continue to unfold in DA3, I actually thought the DLC was great and I don't see why it is so hated. Take one weakness from any BioWare game and it becomes soul destroyingly bad.

The topic has kind of been done to death at this point, so I'll just say that if you thought that the Extended Cut solved anything then you never had an issue with the original endings, seeing as they remained exactly them same. If anything the EC makes it even more nonsensical. The added "Refusal" end was hilarious though. I like to think that was Walter's own petulant cry of "SO BE IT!". And of course even if it had actually fundamentally changed something, the EC only addressed the end. ME3 had problems right from the get-go, the ending was just the icing on the cake.

As to DA2, this isn't really the place to discuss it, but the recycled levels was the least of its sins. The awesome-button combat was terribad, but again not the real issue. Its problems go a hell of a lot deeper than that.

Guess I'll have to change my original opinion of the game. ME3 is a good game until the end for those who have been following the series the first time.

Since I had been putting off replaying the game until all the DLC had been released, I was looking forward to playing through a polished version as jerkass-Shep.
Turns out the drive for finding out what happens next was, along with the competent gameplay, the only thing keeping driving me the first time. It had made me forget that Shep's gorilla tendencies had only gotten worse, that conversations are to be watched, not participated in, and that 90% of the writing should have remained fanfic.

I guess the one thing positive about ME3 is that it paves the way for a ME universe without Shepard, Illusive men, Asari and Starchildren.

There may be no Shepard in name, but I don't think much will change in terms of the mechanics of the player character (aside from some further streamlining probably). There will presumably still be a binary morality meter, (some) choice in dialogue, light RPG elements, and cover-based shooting. Both Hudson and Walters have moved to Montreal to head up the ME4 team, and I doubt they are going to radically change what they did on the last 3 games. I suspect you'll still be limited to a playing a human. You may not be a Spectre, you may not be military, but I would be surprised if you didn't join some powerful and exclusive organisation, travel to four cities/planets/locations, and turn out to be the next iteration of the chosen one that saves the galaxy.

And there will almost certainly be Asari. In fact I would be willing to bet your obviously favourite Asari in particular will show up for a cameo at some point.

Still at least it might let us play a Sheepie who is a bit less of a testosterone fueled gorilla. And sure there might be an exclusive organization, but sometimes they actually work in games (see Alpha Protocol and The Witcher). Yes, the fan service race will not disappear, but at least there is a chance that we won't be saddled with another Liara.

I don't mind being human, I don't mind taking cover (in fact I prefer taking cover to eating bullets), and I don't mind saving the day (that much).

Quite a few things worked better in AP than any other game I can think of (limited recurring characters, choice and consequence, the dossier system etc). Though AP as a whole unfortunately didn't work for most, it's still the game I wish every RPG-writer was forced to play.

perfect choice of words, since that is about the only way to get someone to play it. If you want RPG-writer to see brilliant writing in a Obsidian Entertainment game... I would force them to play Fallout 3 (to see what not to do) and then play Fallout: New Vegas to see how it should be done. Sabre made me finish AP, I will admit decent story to great story, but the utter frustration you had to put up with to see the story, well that would only be worth the time and effort in a Star Wars game, see TSL.

I don't want them to play it just to see great writing (every author has been reading quality books, most of them don't become great authors).
I want them to play it so they can:
Copy the mission structure (having the order you do missions affect the missions to a fair extent).
Realize that sticking with a limited cast and letting you interact with them in several hubs makes you care about them (having Albatross send in the cavalry in Taiwan if you befriended him in Russia for instance).
-It also makes even fetch quests interesting (gathering intel for Scarlet comes to mind)
-It also allowed the dossier system to work.
-Oh, and let them react to your actions if they know about them (If you ghost missions, they won't know you did it.)
Copy the perks system.
Adopt the timed conversations, and then use it to stress you the hell out where appropriate (Ice cream man, being one good example)
Slap the player gently on the wrists for playing like a gamer, not a spy (like going to a meeting with a civilian in full combat gear).
Realize that if a mystery is better left unsolved, don't solve it.

Oh, and understand that it's perfectly fine to give the player a dozen choices for the final mission, instead of simply adding an ending-o-tron.

edit: Ooops, massive rant, guess I'm really annoyed that those ideas seem to have been ignored.

Checking out seems not to do much.

Last edited by mur'phon; 05-08-2013 at 08:10 PM.
Reason: The dark side made me do it

Yeah, you'd think everyone had stopped playing Mass Effect by now and have forgotten about it completely

Now I have finally gotten around to playing ME3 and once again I have fallen in love with the ME universe. I am looking for a few opinions, so fire away!

1. Which DLC is worth getting, if anything? Obviously I've heard a ton about the ending, but I have stayed pretty spoiler free. Is the extended cut DLC make much different?
2. I'll probably get the Citadel DLC as I like the sounds of one last hurrah with the characters. Is it better to playing it during the original run or go back afterwards as it sounds like the tone is very different?
3. Miranda or Ashley? I was with Ashley in ME1 and ended up with Miranda in ME2, but I know she isn't in ME3 much. Does the Citadel DLC make the Miranda relationship any better?

1. Which DLC is worth getting, if anything? Obviously I've heard a ton about the ending, but I have stayed pretty spoiler free. Is the extended cut DLC make much different?

From Ashes pretty much mandatory for context. Leviathan is also highly recommended, as it answers a lot of questions that have been around since ME1. Omega can be skipped. Citadel is fan service (e.g. distraction from the actual game, imho). EDIT: Also, I'm not a fan of the Extended Cut. I realize that I'm in the minority, but the vanilla game gives you enough to fill in the gaps yourself. The Extended Cut not only fills in gaps (that arguably didn't need filling), but adds some stuff that messes with pacing, etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prime

2. I'll probably get the Citadel DLC as I like the sounds of one last hurrah with the characters. Is it better to playing it during the original run or go back afterwards as it sounds like the tone is very different?

I would recommend playing through without it, then watching as many (or as few) of the Citadel DLC clips on YT as you feel you need to make an informed decision. Based on the reviews I read, you can get the parts worth having from youtube without ever spending a dime.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prime

3. Miranda or Ashley? I was with Ashley in ME1 and ended up with Miranda in ME2, but I know she isn't in ME3 much. Does the Citadel DLC make the Miranda relationship any better?

Can't speak to the Miranda/Citadel part, but I will say that the pay-off for the trilogy-long relationship with Ash was pretty satisfying.

I hope that helps

PS: this isn't too spoilery, but I will mention that the Leviathan DLC is presented in parts. You can do all of it at once or you can do some of it, go do other stuff, and then come back. I highly recommend doing it the latter way for the sake of the narrative.

Also, I'm not a fan of the Extended Cut. I realize that I'm in the minority, but the vanilla game gives you enough to fill in the gaps yourself. The Extended Cut not only fills in gaps (that arguably didn't need filling), but adds some stuff that messes with pacing, etc.

As somebody who didn't like the original ending, the Extended Cut didn't really fix any of the issues I had with the ending.

Now I have finally gotten around to playing ME3 and once again I have fallen in love with the ME universe. I am looking for a few opinions, so fire away!

1. Which DLC is worth getting, if anything? Obviously I've heard a ton about the ending, but I have stayed pretty spoiler free. Is the extended cut DLC make much different?
2. I'll probably get the Citadel DLC as I like the sounds of one last hurrah with the characters. Is it better to playing it during the original run or go back afterwards as it sounds like the tone is very different?
3. Miranda or Ashley? I was with Ashley in ME1 and ended up with Miranda in ME2, but I know she isn't in ME3 much. Does the Citadel DLC make the Miranda relationship any better?

I actually agree w/much of tone of Achille's post on this. Omega was a diappointment and should have been better, given possibilites. Like you I haven't played Citadel, and am mixed on whether to bother or not. Have looked at a little of it on YT, but also trying to avoid spoilers. While extended cut isn't horrible, it only fleshed out what was obviouis to many people already anyway. Leviathan and Ashes worth it, story wise, skip Omega.

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country.---Patton

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.---Teddy Roosevelt

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception.---Groucho

And if you all get killed, I'll piss on your graves.---Shaman Urdnot

How would you like to own a little bit of my foot in your ass.---Red Foreman

I actually agree w/much of tone of Achille's post on this. Omega was a diappointment and should have been better, given possibilites. Like you I haven't played Citadel, and am mixed on whether to bother or not. Have looked at a little of it on YT, but also trying to avoid spoilers. While extended cut isn't horrible, it only fleshed out what was obviouis to many people already anyway. Leviathan and Ashes worth it, story wise, skip Omega.

I actually liked Omega. Just the ending was..meh (Me3 tends to have ****ty endings XD). The best one was the Citadel. Had some great lines and was fun to play "todays entertainement: random acts of violence".

Battle is a pure form of expression. It is heart and discipline, reduced to movement and motion. In battle, the words are swept away, giving way to actions-- mercy, sacrifice, anger, fear. These are pure moments of expression.

I actually liked Omega. Just the ending was..meh (Me3 tends to have ****ty endings XD). The best one was the Citadel. Had some great lines and was fun to play "todays entertainement: random acts of violence".

Omega did a couple of things that bugged me. One of my pet peeves with DLC is they have a tendency to 1) break the narrative and 2) loudly broadcast the fact that they are DLC (i.e. new weapons, mechanics, weapons, etc that you don't see anywhere else in the game).

From Ashes - Not only smoothly integrated with the narrative, but was largely responsible for explaining the narrative (+1 good DLC, -1 crappy business practice from Bioware/EA). Didn't break rule #2, either.

Leviathan - Again, fit in nicely with the narrative. Wasn't there for the sake of being there. It actually moved the story forward and helped tie up some loose ends from the previous games. The doctor's lab kinda wore the "Hi, I'm DLC" nametag, but didn't violate my personal space while doing it.

Omega - Stop what you're doing. Go do Aria's thing for the next few hours. New baddies (not seen anywhere else in the game). New mechanics. When I got done, I was back where I started and couldn't remember what I was doing before I walked up to talk to Aria (a very clear sign that rule #1 has been violated). Did it fit the narrative? ....yeah...kinda...? Vanilla ME3 kinda told you something was gonna go down with her, but I think a price is paid when the writers spend time, money, and energy to ratchet up the tension in order to propel you, the hero, the not-so-secret protagonist of this story toward a pay off in Act III only to brutally redirect you to a completely ancillary narrative and then try to return you to your regularly scheduled adventure some hours later.

and finally, Citadel - Every review that I saw (which is not to say "every review that was created") pretty much came right out and said, "Hey, if you think in terms of narrative, let alone care about it, you may want to totally skip this one. It pulls down its pants and poops on your lawn at the lamest possible time...but if you haven't played the game in 6 months, don't care about playing beginning-to-end ever again, and want to have one, last kick-ass good time with your squad, then please insert your dollars here". I then found all the funny bits on YT, had several good belly laughs, and hoped that I would forget about the attempted funny parts that fell flat the next time I slept.

I actually liked Omega. Just the ending was..meh (Me3 tends to have ****ty endings XD). The best one was the Citadel. Had some great lines and was fun to play "todays entertainement: random acts of violence".

It wasn't horrible so much as failing to live up to potential. From much of the commentary I've seen, it might be best to think of Citadel as just an R&R from the ****storm that is rest of story. As always, one prob w/much of the DLC is sticker tag. If the DLC is gonna cost almost as much as getting the game.....it should have to meet a higher bar than some of it has. Caveat emptor, I guess.......

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country.---Patton

There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.---Teddy Roosevelt

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception.---Groucho

And if you all get killed, I'll piss on your graves.---Shaman Urdnot

How would you like to own a little bit of my foot in your ass.---Red Foreman

Omega was Bioware Montreal's test run for ME4. So not only does it have to handle all the baggage associated with the ME3 ending, it's also being made by the multiplayer-focused B-team. Should be awesome.